A Nuke Worker who's too big, too old and too bald, but still thinks he's a runner.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Traditional Wednesday Marathon Pace Run

I ran my traditional "2 to 3 miles at marathon goal pace on the Wednesday before the marathon" workout last night. I always run it on the track to help me stay close to pace throughout the run. Goal pace felt pretty good. I felt as though I was going fast but my breathing was in control and I felt pretty comfortable with the pace. I started out a little too fast, but I hit the second mile within 0.06 seconds of my goal! Total distance was 5 miles with a 1.5 mile warmup and cooldown. After the cooldown I felt very fresh, as though I hadn't worked hard at all.

I'm second guessing my "rule" about racing marathons with the dewpoint over 60°F. I think I'm ready for a PR even at my old age and I know I don't have much time left to go for another PR. But I'm not sure whether I really want to go back to training to get ready for New Orleans on February 25th. I guess I've been spoiled by this taper time. I really enjoyed sleeping in an extra 45 minutes yesterday morning. That was the first time I didn't run before a workday since August 17th.